TWO MILLION married British couples are missing out on £600 each due to not using the marriage allowance, Government figures have revealed. Martin Lewis explains how you can apply.

A whopping million British married couples are missing out on £600 each in marriage tax breaks, figures have revealed.

A Freedom of Information request was submitted to the Government requesting figures surrounding the tax break - a tax concession allowed by government. Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb described it as a 'shockingly' low take-up of a Government scheme.

It's believed the total in unclaimed tax breaks currently stands at around £1.3 billion.

Martin Lewis explained the marriage tax allowance on Good Morning Britain earlier this year. He said: "There are 4.2m people eligible for the marriage tax allowance and only 1.8m of them have claimed. So the majority still haven't got it.

"This is how it works: you need to be married or in a civil partnership, not cohabiting.

One of you needs to be a non-tax payer. So if you do not pay income tax - I don't care whether you work part time, I don't care if you volunteer. If you don't pay income tax and you're married to someone who pays the basic 20 per cent tax then you as a a non tax payer can apply. It has to be you that applies. to move 10 per cent of your tax-free personal allowance - which this year is £1150 - to the tax-payer.

Speaking about the results of the FOI request, Sir Steve Webb told MailOnline: "The take-up of the new allowance is shockingly low.

"Even in its third year of operation, around two million couples who could benefit from the marriage allowance are not doing so.

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"When family finances are so tight, I would encourage every married couple to check whether they might be eligible, including for the last two years, as they could qualify for a useful lump sum as well as a reduction in their ongoing tax bill."

Who can apply for the marriage allowance?

You can apply for the married couple's tax break if all the following apply:

You’re married or in a civil partnership

You don’t earn anything or your income is £11,500 or less

Your partner’s income is between £11,501 and £45,000 (or £43,000 if you’re in Scotland)

It won’t affect your application for Marriage Allowance if you or your partner: